There was something slightly hypocritical in Ruth Marcus's column on the ethics cases pending before Congress ["House of entitlement," op-ed, Aug. 4]. She acknowledged the public "misperception" that "most lawmakers" are "heedless of ethics rules." Yet The Post and others in the media perpetuate that myth.
My organization has worked closely with members of Congress and staff for more than 30 years and found nearly every lawmaker and staffer we've worked with to be dedicated public servants, striving for the good of their constituents. Of course there are ethical lapses in Congress, just as there are in any field, including journalism.
I recognize that it is both the cultural nature of journalism and its business model to focus on the salacious and negative. As Tom Brokaw once said, "We don't cover the story that the bank wasn't robbed today." Nonetheless, it would be nice if the media occasionally pointed out that 99.6 percent of the U.S. Congress was not brought up on ethics charges last week and that the members spent their time trying to do right by the American people.
Bradford Fitch, Washington
The writer is president and chief executive of the Congressional Management Foundation.
